Trinity Squared
by x Varda x
Summary: Three years post Doranda and the fates of two worlds hang in the balance. Rodney's past is about to come back to terrify and destroy him in a way he had never anticipated. Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Trinity Squared (Trinity²)  
**Genre:** Gen, action/adventure/angst  
**Rating:** PG  
**Characters:** Rodney centric with liberal smatterings of everyone else  
**Summary:** Three years post Doranda and the fates of two worlds hang in the balance. Rodney's past is about to come back to terrify and destroy him in a way he had never anticipated.

**Author's Notes** - Everyone and their dog have written a post-Trinity fic, so I decided for a different spin by setting it three years later. Set in the last half of Season 5 (after Prodigal) Please forgive the hokey physics and medical stuff. I'm only doing this for fun and it's scifi after all! /lame-excuses

Written for the Little!Bang challenge on LiveJournal's StarGateLand Community for the prompt Rodney/Disaster. I got a little carried away... Watch this space for total word count (estimated 15k in 8 chapters)

**Chapter One**

Rodney poked the flower with his scanner, then reached out to prod it with his finger, only to have his hand smacked out of the way by Ronon.

"Hey!" Rodney cried.

"Don't touch it!"

Rodney huffed and crouched down so that he could peer intensely at the time defying flower in front of him as it opened and closed, withered, wilted and then regrew in a matter of seconds in a constant cycle. He had no idea what was going on, but his team and the natives were relying on his analysis to solve all their problems. As usual.

He said, "Perhaps if Teyla's friends hadn't told them I knew all the answers we wouldn't be in this situation."

Luckily the lady in question was off with Sheppard investigating some of the other strange happenings on the planet they were visiting. The planet was called Wrydon and was a respected trading partner and ally of the Athosians.

Ronon showed some teeth, the Satedan equivalent of mirth, or perhaps an indication of imminent violence. "But you _do_ have all the solutions."

"Yes, of course I do. But this one makes no sense, I can't explain it. At least not yet." Rodney adjusted the scanner through every iteration he could think of and even scanned for the atmospheric content of cheese particles - useful if he was starving, but now only really one of Zelenka's more unusual and totally useless programming decisions. He huffed in irritation and turned to Ronon, "Try blasting it to see what happens."

Ronon frowned slightly, but did as Rodney asked. The bolt of red energy took the whole hand-sized pink-purple flower off and left behind a stalk with an orange glowing ember at the top.

Rodney hummed at the scanner as it showed the energy dissipating in the air, then building again. "What the…? Get down!"

Ronon didn't need telling twice and both men landed flat on their fronts on the hard packed earth just in time as Ronon's blaster shot reformed and flew back in time to the precise point where he had fired it a moment ago.

Grimacing and coughing and spitting out dirt, Rodney rolled over onto his back while Ronon pushed up into a crouch. The scientist shut his eyes and said, "That was very odd."

"It's not the only thing," Ronon said where he now stood and looked at the place where the flower had been before he had reduced its various components to vapour.

Rodney grabbed the hand proffered by the larger man and allowed himself to be helped upright. He turned and looked down, and to his growing horror, he saw that the flower had reformed and was once more doing its grow-wither-regrow trick.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Just then, the radio chirped and Sheppard's voice said, "Hey, you have to come and check this out! There's something near the village you must see."

"Not the only thing," Rodney mumbled and shook his head at the impossible flower and started to walk back to the village.

xxxxxxxxxx

Rodney stood with his mouth wide and his eyes popping at the spectacle before him. "What? Huh? What the… huh?"

"My thoughts exactly," John said.

Rodney had no explanation for how a waterfall could flow backwards - a water-rise his mind unhelpfully supplied. Localised time dilation and anomalies were unpredictable and inexplicable, even to a genius such as himself. Otherwise they wouldn't be random and he wouldn't be so worried about the people with him and their expectant faces every time they caught his eye.

Teyla was being more composed about the situation and asked the Wrydon village elder and leader, Jugin, "How long has this been occurring?"

"About a week. But it is not just waterfalls and flowers affected. We have become most restless and fearful ever since young master Torpik started his loop."

"Loop?" Ronon asked, but kept his eyes fixed mesmerised on the rising water as the reverse thundering filled the clearing and echoed around the dwellings nearby.

"Yes, it would be better for you to see it with your own eyes than for me to try and explain. Most do not believe it until they have seen."

"Can't imagine why that would be," Rodney muttered.

Jugin led then to the other side of the village. The occasional pair of eyes shone from the darkness of the huts, watching them as they went past, but otherwise the streets were empty and the village silent. Rodney shivered and glanced around nervously. He disliked being paraded through town like he and his team held all the answers and could solve everything. Sure, more often than not, he _did_ know the answer and _could_ save everyone, but he really didn't even know where to start in order to fix this. No doubt the Athosians had already sown seeds into the hearts and minds of the villagers that he was a man who could do anything at the mere snap of his fingers, not once taking into account all the work his brain did to make the solution appear before those fingers snapped.

At the edge of the village, Jugin stopped at the side of the dirt track that led to the stargate two miles away.

Rodney clutched his scanner tightly. It was now plugged into his computer tucked under his arm so he could record everything for analysis back in the safety of Atlantis, and his heart thudded in his chest in anticipation. He had always prided himself in being able to explain everything, but this was an unknown entity, and what he couldn't explain, rationalise or solve, not only made him nervous, but it scared him. If he was the most intelligent man in two galaxies and he didn't know what was going on, who did? His heart reinforced his fear as it tried its best to break free from his chest. He gulped and waited with the others for the next creepy event to become apparent.

He didn't have to wait for long before Jugin said, "Behold Master Torpik in his endless wandering."

A boy, aged about ten, shimmered into existence on the path. He walked a few paces, stopped and glanced around, looking right through everyone.

"Does he not see us?" Teyla asked.

Rodney shuddered again.

Torpik continued walking, Rodney held up his scanner and recording everything, even though he did not yet understand the readings. He made to follow the boy, but just as he stepped onto the path, Torpik vanished.

"Where'd he go?" John asked.

Just as he'd spoken, Torpik reappeared down the path where he had started and walked, stopped and glanced around just as before.

"Looks like there's a glitch in the Matrix," John said.

Rodney scowled and deadpanned, "Well that won't help us solve it, unless you have any ideas, Neo."

Ronon growled and ran over to Torpik and tried to touch him.

"Ronon, no!" Teyla cried.

But it did not matter, because Ronon's strength was no match for the marching of the boy. Torpik continued on his timeless path, unaware of those around him or that he was trapped in an unending loop. Ronon said, "I can't move him," as Torpik walked right into him, but could not be stopped by any of Ronon's attempts.

"It is the same everyday at the same time," Jugin said sadly. "His mother is in despair and everyone else is too afraid to leave their homes. You are our only hope. You have to help us. Please."

Just as Rodney had feared, the others all turned to him and John asked the dreaded question, "So, what's going on then?"

"What are you all looking at me for? How am I supposed to know?" He turned to Jugin. "You don't have any Indian burial grounds, lay lines or chanting witches in the woods around here do you?"

"McKay!" John warned.

"Just asking."

Jugin looked confused as he said, "No."

Ronon turned to Rodney and said, "You don't know? I thought you knew everything?"

Rodney felt like he'd been slapped, but he still managed to lift his chin defiantly. "I know more than everyone else, but I won't pretend for a minute that I know everything."

John raised his eyebrows, "You told us differently a few years ago."

"I know, but that was before… and I was wrong."

xxxxxxxxxx

The Puddle Jumper lazily turned over in space where it sped away from the planet it had just left. Inside the tiny craft, there were two occupants, one flying, one staring at a computer.

"The readings both on the planet and in space are very strange," Rodney said.

"Strange? Is that a technical term?"

"Yes, yes it is. Like when I tell you to dodge the bad guys. I'm sure there's some fancy piloting lingo for whatever the Jumper does at that juncture, but dodging bad guys is perfectly acceptable."

"But you usually just say: _'Ahhhh, we're all going to die!'"_

Rodney rolled his eyes, "Same principle." He stared at his laptop screen. "Anyway, they _are_ strange." His eyebrows rose. "And not constant either. They seem to be coming in waves."

John peered out of the window into space, thinking he should be seeing rippling blue water, perhaps white surf as the waves crested each planet in the system. But the floating orbs looked normal and space was just as it had been before.

Rodney's frown deepened as he scrolled through more data. "There's an infinitesimal curvature to the waves that are moving through the system. If I can gather enough data, I should be able to use a larger computer than this glorified toaster to analyse and extrapolate the point of origin once we're back on Atlantis. I might even need to hook them all up for the calculations required"

"Go there, find out what this is and shut it off."

Rodney scowled and glanced up briefly before he said patronisingly, "Yes yes. Would you like a gold star for that wonderful plan you just came up with all on your own?"

John smiled, "Oh _please!_ But only if you have a wall chart too."

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A while later, back on Atlantis in the labs, things were not going so well.

Zelenka threw up his hands and said, "It's impossible. Totally impossible!"

"What is?" John asked.

"These waves or energy currents or whatever they are, they should not have reached the planet yet if our hypothesis is correct."

John raised an eyebrow, "You know what this is?"

Rodney gave Radek a warning look which subdued him for long enough so that Rodney could say the single word that had not been uttered for three long years. The only taboo on Atlantis that they had all sworn never to mention again for fear of the memories it brought back.

"Doranda."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N - Thank you for all your lovely comments and alerts! It has been quite some time since I attempted a longer fic, and you all warm the cockles of my Rodney whumping heart :) This fic is crossposted on my LiveJournal - there is a small piece of artwork over there at x-varda-x dot livejournal dot com/45634 dot html_

**Chapter Two**

In the briefing room, the people sitting around the conference table were stone faced. None more so than Rodney.

"Shall we fill you in?" John asked.

"I've read the reports, Colonel," Woolsey said. "I already know what happened."

"That it was all my fault!" Rodney barked. "The judgements of everyone else recorded in stone to gloat over for years to come."

John frowned, "Actually, if it was anyone's fault, it was the Ancient's for leaving such a toy lying around that we might get overly curious and try it out."

Rodney looked genuinely surprised, "But I thought… the weeks afterwards when everyone was so angry and closed off with me. I thought you all pinned the blame on me?"

John shook his head, "Have you even _read_ the reports, McKay?"

Rodney's features tightened and he lifted his chin a little, "No."

"Well maybe you should. Besides, we weren't ignoring you, you did that to yourself and it all worked out in the end."

"Hmm."

Woolsey had watched the exchange, and took the opportune silence to say, "This was all three years ago. So what are we going to do now?"

Rodney frowned down at his computer. "The Wrydon system is a lot further than three light years away from ground zero. The wave shouldn't have reached it yet. It's impossible, the most basic laws of physics cannot allow it."

John nodded, "Because it's travelling faster than light."

Rodney snorted. "Nothing. And I mean nothing natural that isn't in subspace…" He glanced at John. "Not even the speed at which you get your hairgel on in the morning immediately after waking up can travel faster than the speed of light."

John smirked. "What occurred on Doranda was hardly natural. What about time travel? Or maybe it's in hyperspace?"

"No and no. Whatever it is, it's massive, covering thousands upon thousands of lightyears and growing in size as it spreads out from the source. A phenomenal amount of energy is required for it to do that and to keep this level of energy while it's so spread out.

John wasn't smiling any more. "Well, the original bang was pretty massive. Planet destroying."

Rodney grimaced at him. "Thank you so much for reminding me. But what I'm getting at is that we, and I speak for the whole science team in case you think I wouldn't ask for help after what happened before, we don't know exactly what it is that's approaching the system. Nor do we know what it will mean for the people on Wrydon when it hits."

"And this is the closest gate to the point of origin?" Woolsey asked as he looked at the diagram Rodney had put up on the main screen.

"Yes. And the Daedalus is two weeks away on a return trip to Earth, so we're on our own."

Teyla frowned at the screen. "There is another world that will be hit at the same time."

John nodded, "We know. It has a space gate, so we're going to check it out in a couple of hours to get some more readings. See if they can shed some more light on what's going to happen when the main wave hits."

Ronon looked up at the mention of a mission and the promise of potential action that he could take part in. "Check if it's inhabited."

Rodney's face fell.

Woolsey said, "So, we don't know what this wave is and we don't know when it will hit or what it will do."

Rodney carefully avoided his gaze.

"What _do_ we know?"

Ronon said, "That it's bad."

"Very bad," John added. "The initial explosion destroyed a solar system."

"Not all of it," Rodney protested. "But it was an unstable energy source and it didn't comply with any known laws of physics. Unpredictable, powerful and unstoppable."

John asked, "What about Janus' lab? Is there anything in there that could help."

Rodney looked upwards praying that the heavens high above could channel patience to him through the ceiling, but didn't get a reply so he said sarcastically, "Let me see. A device that can stop the onslaught of an unknown energy wave thousands of light years wide, and growing. Would you like me to reverse the orbit of the planet we're floating on too while I'm at it? Perhaps knock a few suns into each other?"

John shrugged, "Only asking. Janus did like to play around with time a bit and the weirdness on the planet we went to _did_ seem to be time related."

Rodney glared at him and shook his head. "The sheer scale of this is daunting to say the least. There may be a solution somewhere and with enough time we may find it, but for now, there's no quick fix."

Woolsey asked, "Is there any good news at all?"

Silence.

Rodney snapped his fingers. "Evacuation. Just until it hits. We could set up some monitoring equipment to take all the readings. Dial in every day or so to see if it's happened yet and then send the Daedalus to check it out in a couple of weeks."

Woolsey thought for a moment and sighed before he said, "This is a drastic plan, but I don't see that there are any other options so I have to agree."

Teyla asked, "What about Torpik?"

Rodney furrowed his brow, "I don't know. Maybe as the wave gets closer the anomalies will change location and he'll be freed."

Woolsey turned to her. "Teyla, I'd like you to head up two teams and begin the evacuation with Major Lorne."

"Where are we to evacuate them to?"

Rodney turned to Teyla hopefully, desperate to provide solutions to the problems his error had caused all those years ago. "What about the Athosians? You could take in a few hundred refugees."

Teyla kept her face and voice carefully neutral, "We have taken in a few individuals over the years, but to have so many I fear that what little food we have managed to grow and harvest since our return would be insufficient to sustain all of us."

Rodney frowned and pressed, "It might only be temporary."

"And it may not. My people are still rebuilding what little remains of their lives after Michael," she spat his name and her calm expression faltered a little at the anger still burning within.

Woolsey said, "Alright, so the Athosians are not an option. In which case the people must be asked to bring all they can. We can assist them with Jumpers and evacuate to the Alpha Site until the situation has resolved."

xxxxxxxxxx

Rodney swept out of the room and walked so quickly down the gate room steps on his way back to the labs that Teyla had to jog after him.

She called out to him, "Rodney!"

But he was either too far away, or too wrapped up in his own thoughts to stop, so they were well down the corridor before Teyla caught up with him, grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"Dr McKay!

"Uh, Teyla. Hi. I'm in a hurry - need to get my gear before heading out on that mission to the second planet."

"You should have consulted me before making the suggestion!"

"Suggestion?" Rodney looked genuinely confused and more than a little bit scared at the glare he was receiving.

"Your suggestion to relocate hundreds, possibly thousands of people to New Athos."

"Oh. But that's all that it was – a suggestion, an option. And we're fast running out of them."

"Well, the answer is no." Teyla's eyes were narrowed and her whole body was tense with well controlled fury. "My people are proud of what we are. Although what we once had is still told in song, we have barely managed to cling to this through the constant relocation in the past five years. Most of what we had is now destroyed or locked in fading memories, the songs becoming little more than legends and myths that few young ones believe are true.

"With the incoming of so many strangers with their own culture and ideas, all of what little remains will be lost forever."

She quickly blinked the glassiness of her eyes and channelled her sadness into anger at the man standing bewildered in front of her. "Our culture and livelihoods would become diluted by these newcomers. We cannot trust those whom we do not know after what happened to us."

Rodney wrung his hands nervously. "I'm so sorry, Teyla! I… I wasn't thinking. But it'll be alright." He held up a placating hand, his eyes wide and his voice low. "There are plenty of other worlds, nice, uninhabited worlds where we can relocate them if the whole situation goes south and they can't go back. We just need some more time to find one."

Teyla straightened up, backing away a little so that Rodney could breathe again. She spoke haughtily, "Just promise me that you will never do that again without consulting me first."

Rodney swallowed and nodded fervently. "I doubt I'll forget. Good luck with the evacuation."

Teyla furrowed her brow with a small, sad smile. "And you with the survey of the second world."

xxxxxxxxxx

John, Rodney and Ronon took out a Jumper while most of Atlantis focussed on the evacuation of the first one.

The small ship glided unhindered through the vacuum of space once it had left the blue wormhole pool and turned over so that the occupants could look down upon the world below.

John brought up the HUD. "Scanning for… _everything."_

Rodney already had his laptop out while Ronon stared out the window from the seat behind him.

"Way ahead of you there," the scientist said.

"Uh oh! That can't be good," John said.

"Double checking. Verifying." Rodney scowled, looked up and then back down at the screen, "Triple checking."

Ronon frowned, "What's up?"

The more data that scrolled up the screen, the further Rodney's mouth downturned until he cried, "No no no no no!"

John was flying the Jumper lower and letting the ship just skim the upper atmosphere. "We'd better see this with our eyes I think, just to be certain."

Ronon growled, "Certain of what?"

Rodney squawked, "That we're so _so_ screwed! Why does everything always have to go so wrong?"

John sensed that Ronon's patience had run out and that he was about to resort to violence, so quickly said that which Rodney could not. "That there are thousands of human life signs on the planet. And that we'll never evacuate them in time."

TBC!


	3. Chapters 3 and 4

**Chapter Three**

The Jumper showed Rodney, John and Ronon that there were hundreds of people in many villages scattered across the continent with one larger settlement of a few thousand. The situation would take forever to explain to each settlement individually and then evacuate them all.

Zelenka had already dialled in to say they were now on the clock. Twenty four hours was his worst estimate for when the main wave was going to hit, based mainly on conjecture and guess work as no physics yet known to man could predict the exact time. Zelenka was good, and Rodney had long ago learnt that he could give his very rare trust to the man, so didn't doubt the estimate.

It was like an earthquake, Rodney thought, foreshocks before the main event. No doubt there would be aftershocks too that would shake the newly formed asteroid fields Rodney saw in his mind's eye.

Every action for an equal and opposite reaction. But destruction had only led to more destruction in this case, and if the wave was still powerful enough to destroy planets, then Rodney was destined to become the murderer of thousands and to die in the process too.

His mind always leapt to the worst case scenario, but what else could he do? At least that way if anything ever didn't go that badly he would be surprised. Perhaps the natives would execute them before the shockwave hit? Would he still be a murderer if he was already dead? But then at least some good would come from the whole fiasco, and that would be to eliminate the problem at its true source: Rodney McKay.

xxxxxxxxxx

John landed the cloaked Jumper next to the most likely looking building in the largest settlement. Despite their stealth, the team were so different in appearance and demeanour that they were quickly captured and taken into the very building John had had his eye on as being their leader's residence.

John and Rodney explained the scenario to the leader of the Porvush and his companions. Those in power wore large brightly coloured flowing capes and held staffs with strange but different designs on each one. Ronon grunted occasionally in agreement, but spent most of the time eyeing the locals carefully for signs of hostility. The Lantean's weapons had been taken away, but they had left a potent weapon behind – Ronon himself.

The leaders listened in silence until even Rodney stopped gabbling and trailed off looking apprehensively at the gathered crowd and the burly guards in the main hall.

The leader of all the people, signified by the throne where he sat, jumped to his feet and hit the base of his staff on the floor with a loud clang. He looked at his gathered kinsmen and stated, "So it has been told and so we had expected from the beginning. The coming of these outsiders who speak so boldly even unto us is the final sign. The holy omen of those lost in time was the first, but this shall be the last. The end is nigh and the portents now show it to be true."

Rodney was shifting uncomfortably and said, "Uh, that's just another way of saying what I just said."

The leader waved at his brightly adorned comrades, "We have gathered the tribe's leaders of the Porvush as requested in our most sacred text. I quote from the last book, which tells the tale of the final day of our people: 'And Gulthar the Apt wouldst looketh up to the heavens and see the circling meteor forever on its path of enlightenment…'"

"That time looping asteroid we dodged," Rodney mumbled.

"'…And upon this meteor would come The Three. These Three would herald the ending of the world of Porvush by their words and actions.'" The leader stood taller and said in a loud voice, "I am Gulthar, High Leader of the Porvush, as have all those before me been called so, as his is the most celebrated of the prophecies and we are all after his example."

"How convenient," Rodney said a little too loudly.

John stepped on Rodney's foot and he released a short breath of pain. John said, "Uh, we didn't come here to end anything. We're as human as you are and we only came to help you out."

"Take him," the leader pointed at Rodney. "He appears to be the one who talks the most and who will reveal what we need to know and how we can prevent this from coming to pass."

"That's exactly what we're trying to do! What do you _want_ to know?" Rodney squeaked.

"You will find out soon enough. It has been foretold."

John stepped in front of Rodney as the guards approached and Ronon moved closer too. John held out his hands while Rodney lifted his chin defiantly.

John said, "Take me instead."

The guards shoved him out of the way and Ronon too, while others manhandled the protesting scientist from the room. Rodney shouted at them the whole time, his voice becoming quieter as he approached the door at the side of the hall. "We're trying to help you! Let me go! Stop touching me, I can walk on my own without your oafish hands all over me, thanks!"

They pulled and bound Rodney's hands tightly behind his back, but he still didn't get the hint and kept running his mouth until a solid fist punched him in the stomach. He stopped speaking in a grunt and tightened his face, curling in on himself where he was held upright, unable to wrap his arms around his middle as he so wanted to.

John and Ronon also protested, even more so after Rodney had been subdued. Ronon was more physical about it than John, but there were too many guards and they were too righteous to heed the Lantean's warnings of impending doom, even with their promise that if they hurried at least two thousand could be saved.

Despite them telling the truth and the increasing desperation and limited time before the inevitable, there was nothing they could do, so outnumbered as they were.

xxxxxxxxxx

Rodney was shoved into John and Ronon's cell two long hours later. One of the guards left with a black eye and the other a bruised shin, but it hadn't let the captives escape.

John crouched down next to Rodney where he had crawled into the far corner and sat on the floor with his back leaning against the wall. He tilted his head back and shut his eyes. His tac vest and jacket were now gone and his arms were bruised in patterns that looked suspiciously like restraints at the wrists and finger marks where they were bare below the elbow from the short sleeved black shirt he still wore.

John reached out while Ronon prowled near the door like a tiger sprung ready to pounce. John grasped Rodney's upper arm and elicited a flinch from the other man. "What did they do to you?"

Rodney narrowly opened his eyes, one of which was bloodshot and sore-looking, with a purpling bruise around the socket that John could now see at such close quarters. He sighed before saying, "They did nothing to me that I don't deserve for causing this. It's only right that I should be punished in this way before we all get killed for my mistake."

"Don't say that! I thought you were intelligent? How many times do I have to tell you this isn't your fault?"

"At least another fifty," Rodney said with a very small and painfully sad smile before his eyes fluttered shut again.

John started patting Rodney down, searching for injuries or blood. Rodney immediately swatted his hands away with a disgusted look. "What are you _groping_ me now? How's that supposed to make me feel better? I already said there's nothing wrong with me."

"You were with them for hours," John said as he reluctantly desisted in his check after a particularly vicious slap from Rodney make a loud cracking sound in the small cell.

Ronon stopped pacing to add, "When you say there's nothing, McKay, that means there's something."

"See," John furrowed his brow, "Even Ronon knows."

"Alright, alright," Rodney said angrily. "They roughed me up a bit, but as I said already, I caused this and I deserve it."

John sighed, "Well let's hope you're stubbornness lets you live long enough for Keller to take a look."

"What did they want to know?" Ronon asked.

"Our secrets and true purpose here," Rodney said. He looked down at his shaking hands resting in his lap. "And I told them everything."

"That's alright," John said, reaching forward and placing his hand on Rodney's shoulder again. "You did good."

"I know, I know. There really isn't anything to say to them but the truth. They hit me all the same. I don't think they liked what I said, but the leader knew I wasn't lying. I certainly couldn't lie when they threatened to start punching bleeding holes in my body. As opposed to just punching." He grimaced and curled a hand around his ribs and closed his eyes.

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**Chapter Four**

Why did the mistake Rodney thought he had already paid and atoned for tenfold have to come back to haunt him? Why was it now that he was to become the killer of thousands? Why did those thousands have to be religious fanatical xenophobes who'd rather die in a blaze of time twisted glory than listen to what he had to say? Why had it been that the instant they'd touched down, said denizens had captured them, pretended to listen to what they said. Then ignored everything, branded him a sky demon and false prophet, beaten him up and locked them all in such a small cell.

"We're running out of time," Rodney said when he woke from his slumber a while later. He poked at a bruise on his forearm that hadn't yet reached the livid purple stage yet, but in a few hours, oh yes, that was going to be a shiner. The guilt weighed him down so heavily that it made his stomach hurt and he felt sick, either that or it was the fists that had been buried in his midsection by the very friendly locals. But whichever one it was, it felt like a knife twisting in his guts.

Rodney was glad John and Ronon were in the cell with him and that the guards had only taken their visible weapons, leaving the tac vests, radios and other supplies.

"These guys," John said, testing his ankle, "pleasant as they are, really need to take note of what's going on."

"What else are we supposed to tell them?" Rodney said in a high voice. "You're all going to die in a day, but, you know, nice to meet you and all, despite the whole religious xenophobic nuttiness you have going for you. Sucks to be you."

"Sucks to be us stuck in here," Ronon said as he tested the door again with an already bruised shoulder.

John shook his head, "But we don't know what's going to happen yet do we? Unless you've had an epiphany while we were shut in here. Because the last I heard, neither you, nor any of the other scientists knew what was going to happen."

"Yes, you're right, I _don't_ know what's going to happen. But in my book, whatever screws around with time is as bad as bad can get most likely on the universe destroying scale. If the paradoxes being created left, right and centre don't cause the fabric of the universe to implode, then maybe when the shockwave hits it'll just tear a lovely dark hole in space-time and we'll all get sucked in!"

The rhythmic thump thump thump of Ronon's battered shoulder on the door paused for a moment so he could say, "That's bad, right?"

"What's wrong with only destroying inanimate objects," Rodney shouted in despair at no-one in particular. "Now I have to kill people too, years after the initial event that I already learnt my lesson and moved on from."

Rodney's panicked braying was making John nervous. "Calm it down, McKay, no one's dead yet."

Rodney managed to draw in a deep juddering breath, even though it pained him, then rolled his eyes and glared. "There are hundreds of ways the delicate balance of planetary orbits and rotations can be upset. It doesn't even have to be instant. The sun could be damaged, planets could be set to collide or put into slowly decaying orbits."

John said, "We can deal with that as we'll have more time to evacuate them all. But what are we going to do now?"

"Bust out of here," Ronon said.

Rodney scowled and folded his arms, only to flinch and unfold them just as hastily as he had pressed his sore arms against his sorer middle. "And then what? Evacuate a few hundred people? How are we supposed to choose so few from so many? Who gets to decide who to save?"

John shrugged. "We have to try something."

Ronon grumbled, "Trying to get out of here."

"It's no use," Rodney said. "The door's thicker than my leg and there are no weaknesses in the lock design. They must be paranoid to make it so sturdy. Perhaps they execute their prisoners?" Rodney glanced around nervously.

"Doubt it," Ronon said. "We'll escape before they do anyway."

"And how's that working for you?" Rodney asked in a loud voice. "Can you still feel your shoulder?"

Ronon frowned at him and finally desisted with a sigh, came over and sat on the floor with the others. "Knew it wasn't going to work. But we can take them when they come for us."

John nodded. "Be ready."

Rodney wanted to shrink into the wall, but he had to help this time, because he was the cause of the problem and he had to find the solution, he just had to, because he couldn't go to his death with so much blood on his hands.

xxxxxxxxxx

They didn't have to wait long for the guards to return, but this time John and Ronon were ready for them and fuelled with anger from Rodney's treatment. Ronon pushed the door back into them as they came through, a startled yelp and a thump later and one guard was down. Ronon and John made short work of the other three with their fists and although John now had a bloody lip and Ronon flexed his bruised knuckles, they were free.

John helped Rodney upright and they fled into the building where they were being kept. The civilisation had just about reached the stone age, hence the wooden door gave way to solid brickwork and dark, torch lit corridors. Dodging guards was the easy part. The telltale clip clop of their boots echoed down every hallway as opposed to the Lantean's silent rubber soles.

Rodney had to be hurried up on more than one occasion and it was clear he was suffering as he not only huffed and grimaced, but kept unusually silent. His every small pain got shared most of the time, so now that he said nothing had the others worried. But there wasn't anything they could do to help him until they got back to Atlantis, and that meant escaping and reaching the Jumper.

The guards were clearly dim witted and unused to visitors such as Ronon. He was well versed in the arts of evasion and capture and skilfully guided them out of the building and into the nearest wooded area, all the time remaining concealed and silent.

John still had his scanner although Rodney's had been confiscated with the rest of his belongings other than his basic clothes. Rodney shivered in the cool air and hugged his arms around his middle. "What is this? Freeze us to death now?"

John quickly took off his vest and jacket and passed the latter to the ailing Rodney to keep him quiet more than anything. Rodney took it without protest and although it was too small for him to zip up, he managed to wrap it around himself like a makeshift blanket. The shivering gradually subsided as they tracked through the woodland with John leading the way with his scanner honed on the Jumper.

A while later and they were back on the ship. Luckily the natives hadn't found it and soon they were airborne and making haste back to the gate high overhead in orbit, even shorter on time and more desperate for a solution to the unsolveable problem than ever before.

Rodney remained silent and pensive staring at the console blankly with his face ashen. Somewhere along the way he drew John's jacket more tightly around himself with a trembling hand.

John suspected it was more than the physical injuries that were altering Rodney's mood in such an uncharacteristic way, but he had nothing to say that could soothe him and Ronon was also quiet from where he sat behind his two team mates.

xxxxxxxxxx

Rodney had a full examination in the infirmary after the mission, but refused to stay in for observation as Jennifer had prescribed for his own good.

"Feel free to keep me in if I'm unconscious," Rodney said angrily. "But I have too much to do and lazing around in here won't save the thousands I've killed."

Jennifer took a step back with a furrowed brow and pressed a box of painkillers into his hand. "You haven't killed thousands and you're hurt. You should really stay in for at least for a few hours for monitoring in case you have internal bleeding we've missed."

Rodney frowned at her, but kept the pills. "In which case I'll be collapsing somewhere and won't be in any position to get myself out of here at the first opportunity. Once they're all dead, I'll be more than happy to submit to any medical procedure you feel is fitting."

Jennifer nodded slowly, "Alright. But just as long as you know this is against my orders as a doctor. I could take you off duty and insist you stay here, but your injuries are not too serious."

Rodney glared at her.

"At least not _immediately_ life threatening," she amended. "It would only be a precaution, so you may leave. But call me if it gets any worse."

Rodney nodded and pushed himself off the exam bed.

John sauntered into the infirmary and over to Rodney. He shared a look with an exasperated Jennifer. John nodded in understanding. "Upsetting the kindly medical folks again, McKay?"

"If they stopped poking me to make it hurt more, then I wouldn't have to." Rodney fumbled with the pile of clothes someone had brought over for him.

"Just hurry up and put your shirt back on and let's get to the bottom of this," John said, wincing internally at the dark bruising he saw to Rodney's pale chest and abdomen.

He was met by Rodney's usual happy-go-lucky scowl before the man slowly tugged on the shirt with a grimace and the clean jacket went around him next with a loud huff.

John frowned and turned to Jennifer, "So, how is he?"

"A few bruised ribs and various other knocks and bumps. He should be alright as long as he doesn't overexert himself."

Rodney glared between them. "Standing right here!"

John continued, ignoring Rodney's crack, "Good, because we have a briefing right now. The first planet has been hit by the wave already."

Rodney's heart rate increased exponentially and he went as white as the sheets on the bed he had just vacated. John quickly went to him and grabbed his elbow and hissed under his breath, "Don't faint on me or you'll get stuck in here when we need you the most."

"Pass out," Rodney ground. "That's a really old joke, Sheppard. It wasn't funny the first time and certainly isn't now."

Rodney righted himself and some colour returned to his cheeks. The paleness of his skin accentuated the dark bruising and swelling around his eye and John winced in sympathy. Rodney still managed to smile crookedly, "You need me."

John rolled his eyes as he guided Rodney from the infirmary and down the corridor.

Rodney's smile broadened, but fell a little as the corners of his eyes crinkled – right at the bruising. "Admit it, you said you _need_ me."

"Not as much as the thousands of people on the second planet now need you."

Rodney's face fell faster than a stone in 10G.

TBC


	4. Chapters 5 and 6

**Chapter Five**

"Zelenka fixed Torpik's time loop with squiggly math," John said as he and Rodney approached the conference room. "He showed me some of it with a big grin on his face like it was the most amazing thing ever. I don't even know what half the symbols were. I swear he's invented some new ones."

Rodney gave him an exasperated look. "You'd be surprised."

They entered the room and took their seats. Woolsey was at the head of the table and the room was crammed full of scientists and the leaders of each of the offworld teams. John nodded at the gathered crowd and he saw Radek tapping on a laptop with his glasses right at the end of his nose while he squinted at the screen. That brought a small smile to John's face, but it soon fell when Woolsey started speaking.

"I have been reliably informed that we have 12 hours before the brunt of the energy wave hits the second populated planet in its path."

Rodney asked quietly, "What happened to the first?" Then shrunk down into his seat and hunched his shoulders in a braced position.

Teyla said, "Several things happened, although we were not there to witness it."

Radek said, "The planet was not destroyed, but we do not know if it has been damaged in a way that will take time to become apparent. The effects of the wave were to scorch some of the land to ashes in blackened swathes. Time has ravaged other parts. Some trees are hollow and dead, while others are thousands of years old. The main village tree is now twice the size it was before we left."

Teyla continued, "In the main settlement some of the houses have been damaged, others destroyed. One vanished as though it had never even existed."

Rodney frowned. "That's impossible."

Radek shrugged and said, "All of this is impossible. For a start, the wave's energy should have dissipated as it spread out through space from the initial point."

The gathered people remained silent while Rodney opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to add anything or think of any explanation for what was happening.

At length John said, "We can cram about 20 people into each Jumper, but that's without any belongings. It's an hour each way to the gate orbiting the second planet, but first we have to convince them to come with us."

Rodney grimaced. "They seemed more interested in locking us up and spouting all sorts of faux religious nonsense than listening."

Teyla lifted her chin, "Just because you do not believe in it, does not make it any less valid."

Rodney shrugged and winced.

Woolsey was eyeing them all critically and said, "The Atlantis Expedition is not about saving people in this manner. If this were Earth we would be using all our resources to help these people. But we don't have the space or adequate food and shelter for them."

"So we should just let them die?" Teyla said angrily.

"No."

Rodney piped up in mildly hysterical desperation, "We need to save them. We absolutely _must_ save as many of them as possible. Preferably all of them."

"Didn't they torture you?" Ronon asked. "I'd say let them die."

Rodney looked down at his hands and mumbled, "I wouldn't exactly call it 'torture.'"

"They tied you down and hit you? Threatened, coerced and kept you trapped. Kept all of us in the cell."

Rodney floundered as the eyes of his colleagues took in his hunched frame and bruised face and turned to sympathy. Rodney said, "Uh, yes."

"Well, that's what torture is."

Radek gave Rodney a gentle nudge and pointed something out on his computer as more symbols scrolled up the screen. Rodney's expression altered from one pinched with pain and annoyance over all the attention, to one of realisation and surprise. "That's how you got Torpik out?"

Radek nodded and his face lit up with a smug, cheesy grin. He had clearly been working with Rodney for far too long.

Rodney said, "But to shield a whole planet…"

Radek joined in, "Yes yes yes…"

"But they're integrated systems."

Radek shrugged, "We'll just have to pull them out and rig it all up. Shunt power around to other sections as needed."

Woolsey asked, "Would you care to enlighten us, gentlemen?"

Rodney was looking upbeat, the first time for several days. "Radek's Puddle Jumper modifications used to shield Torpik's time loop area and free him might be expanded to encompass the whole planet." He quickly added, "Just until the wave passes."

John frowned, "You need one of the Jumpers? And McKay? Both need to be used in the evacuation mission. Without them we'll lose another 120 people."

Rodney said angrily, "So I'm a factor in your calculations now? Don't you see, if we can get this to work, we'll save them _all!"_

Woolsey held up a hand and John and Rodney looked over at him. "Dr McKay, what do you need to make this work?"

"Unrestricted access to a single Puddle Jumper," he gave Sheppard a sidelong glance and the Colonel averted his eyes with a frown. Rodney continued, feeling a little put out, "The ZedPM, a couple of the shield emitters…"

"Four," Radek cut in.

_"Four_ emitters from the city shield and some marines to help us move them to the Jumper Bay. And we need everyone in the science team working on this." Rodney hands were moving while he spoke as he got more and more agitated, but the bruises were now well hidden under his long sleeved jacket.

Woolsey sighed. "So you want to take the ZPM offworld in a Jumper along with several crucial components of the city's defensive shield?"

"Yes," Rodney said with wide eyes and a hopeful face.

"The answer is no," Woolsey said. "If the plan fails and the Jumper and ZPM are both destroyed we will not only be left without power, but the city will be without any protection if we're attacked."

John furrowed his brow and looked at Rodney, "I'm sorry, McKay, but agree with Mr Woolsey. We can't remove the ZPM from Atlantis for any reason."

Teyla had a deep frown on her face, an expression mirrored by Ronon where he sat next to her. She asked, "How much of the first planet was destroyed?"

Radek checked his laptop. "The latest survey indicates that twenty percent was burnt, approximately another twenty percent of the surface was affected by the time anomalies of rapid or reverse aging."

"Forty percent!" Rodney squeaked. He cleared his throat and continued, "Forty percent of thousands! That's hundreds and hundreds of people we're condemning, and we, or more appropriately, _I_, caused this! Without us they'd go on living their strange ways for many, many happily deranged years to come!"

Woolsey said, "Or the Wraith could come and cull them next week."

Rodney deflated a little. "Hypothetically!"

"And isn't it only hypothetical that this planet will be affected in the same way as the first one?"

Rodney glared at him and then looked at Radek. The Czech scientist turned away from him and said, "There is another option. We could run through the readings and try to calculate where the worst of the physics defying energy wave will hit. But it will be creative guess work based on theories we have only just created and cannot yet understand."

Woolsey shared a meaningful look with John and after a while they came to a silent agreement. "Dr McKay," Woolsey said. "I need you to stay on Atlantis and co-ordinate the science team to find out where the wave will hit so that we can move the people into safe areas." He turned to Sheppard, "Is this alright with you, Colonel, to be one man down on the Jumper rescue team?"

John nodded. "We'll be leaving a couple behind for defending the city. That modified one doesn't sound like it's in any shape for six trips back and forth."

Woolsey nodded. "You all have your assignments. Dismissed."

xxxxxxxxxx

Rodney dashed after John when the meeting broke up, and ran so fast he reached the Colonel at the top of the stairs in the gate room while others filed out and walked quickly to where they needed to be.

Rodney cried, "You have to let me do this, John!"

"No." John kept walking down the steps, following the others to retrieve his gear.

Rodney stayed on his heels. "I'm not going to make the mistake of asking you to trust me again, or lie to you and say that I'm 100% certain this will work, but…"

"No," John said again, carefully keeping his eyes averted from Rodney's desperate gaze. "Absolutely not if you can't even give me your word that it'll work. If you try and fail, not only will we lose a Jumper, shield emitters and the ZPM." He finally stopped walking just before they left the gate room and looked at Rodney. "But we'll lose _you."_

Rodney's mouth snapped shut.

John continued, "The Wraith will come and cull them eventually and they weren't exactly nice to us."

"That was only a few of them and how many politicians do you know that are nice?" Rodney narrowed his eyes as he looked up to where Woolsey was talking with Chuck in the control room. "You're basing your judgement on a hypothetical situation. The Wraith may not bother them for many more years!"

"Or they might come tomorrow."

Rodney couldn't say anymore and had no choice but to let John go, because every moment wasted was another life lost.

xxxxxxxxxx

**Chapter Six**

Teyla and Ronon met Rodney on the way to his lab with the rest of the science team. They also grabbed Radek before he scurried away.

Rodney frowned at them as they led him and his second in command into a side room and sealed the door. "What's this about?" Rodney asked. "We have a lot of work to do! Although not a lot of good it will do for the thousands of people who are about to die by my hand!"

Teyla furrowed her brow, "That is why we brought you in here with Dr Zelenka."

Ronon looked at her and they shared a look of understanding that Rodney could not decipher. Rodney himself was too keen to obey in this instance, lest he make a massive error again and fall out of favour with his friends and colleagues. At least this time he could blame them if the whole thing went wrong, but that did nothing to ease his conscience about what was going to happen.

Teyla turned back to the two scientists and sighed, "We have not had cause to doubt either Mr Woolsey or Colonel Sheppard's leadership before, but this is where the needs of the Pegasus people outweigh the perceived security risks."

Radek said, "I have to agree with you."

Ronon also grunted assent.

Rodney, who had folded his arms over his chest, even though it was uncomfortable, had expected a personal attack about his insecurity over whether the shield plan would work. He let his arms drop. He had never been so unsure of himself or his abilities as he was now, even in the time after the Doranda disaster. Probably because there was so much at stake and failure would result in so much death and almost certainly destroy him. He said, "But what if it _does_ go wrong? You heard Woolsey and Sheppard: the safety and security of Atlantis is paramount above all other considerations."

Ronon growled and Rodney took a step back and held out his hands and quickly gabbled, "Not that I'm saying I agree with that statement, but that's how they see things."

"They are wrong," Teyla said. "We could help and we should."

"ZPM's not that important," Ronon said. "Not as much as thousands of lives are."

Teyla turned to Radek who had remained unusually quiet the whole time. He quickly held up his hands. "I am not taking sides," he said. "This is full scale mutiny and we will get into trouble."

Rodney sneered, "I didn't take you for a goodie twoshoes follow the leader type."

Radek rolled his eyes and glared at Rodney, "What have I been doing for past five years, hmm?"

"You must have an opinion on it though?"

Teyla sighed, "It does not matter. If you do not wish to disobey to help us, you may go."

Ronon looked at Radek then back at Rodney before he asked, "Do we really need his help, or can you do this on your own, McKay?"

Rodney looked away, but in his heart he already knew the reply no matter how painful it was for his ego to admit it. What he really needed was more time. Perhaps he would've had a shower and a long sleep on it, not only to clear his head, but to recuperate from his injuries at the hands of the people he was half killing himself to save. Selfishly though, all he wanted to do was save his mind from the path of destruction he was headed down. It didn't matter that the leaders of Porvush had hurt him. All that mattered was that they were humans, just like him, Radek, Ronon, Teyla… they couldn't all be bad, could they?

Rodney had done something on his own three years ago, without the blessing of most people, and he had paid dearly for it. Although his mistakes were rare, he had vowed in the dark days that had followed the Doranda disaster that he would never make the same mistake twice. Even with the full scale internal war going on between his rational side and his ego, he already knew he couldn't do this alone, he _had_ to ask for help.

"Yes, we need Radek with us," Rodney said quietly. "There is very little time now and he was the one who figured out the shield to free Torpik."

Radek mulled it over for a few more seconds and then nodded, "Very well. I will assist you, but if this goes wrong..."

"You'll deny all knowledge?"

"I will not. Unlike some, I am willing to face the consequences of my actions."

"Touché," Rodney said.

"The rest of the science team can work on Woolsey's plan while we work on this one," Radek said.

"Can you do it?" Ronon asked them both.

Their reply was a unison, "Maybe."

Rodney shifted uncomfortably, admitting that he was unsure whether he could do something or not made his skin crawl. "We can trick the sensors and alter the power distribution to make it appear as though there's still a ZedPM in place. It'll take Woolsey's lesser minions up in the control room quite some time to notice."

Radek said, "Perhaps it would be better if you work on that and retrieve four shield emitters from the main array while I reconfigure the shield matrix to cover the whole planet?"

Ronon asked, "The shields have emitters that can be removed?"

"No," Rodney said patronisingly. "The shield comes out of my backside. What do you think?"

Ronon glared and then shook his head in exasperation.

Rodney scowled, then turned back to Radek, "You have all the fun and I do the heavy lifting. How is that fair?"

"Ronon and Teyla can assist you." He glanced at them and they nodded. "It will not take long and then you can help me with the final preparations."

"So all we need to do is evade Woolsey and Sheppard like the Wraith and pretend we're working on their plan."

Teyla smiled, "I am sure it will not be a problem for men such as yourselves to fool them as to what we are up to."

Rodney deflated a little and his mouth puffed open in a surprised, "Oh."

"Time's running out," Ronon said.

"We'll check in with the others," Rodney said. "But not tell them what we're doing." He turned to Ronon and Teyla. "I'll meet you in the basement where the primary shield generators and ZedPM are in about twenty minutes."

They parted ways with their heads down as their mutinous plan was put in motion and they made a start on Plan B.

xxxxxxxxxx

Radek radioed Rodney a couple of hours later. Rodney had his head in the guts of the second giant Lantean shield emitter in the basement while Ronon and Teyla stood nearby wielding an equally massive toolkit and trolley. Rodney had long ago overheated and removed his jacket and tied it around his waist. His bare arms were still visibly bruised and he had to pause every now and then to wait for the pain to diminish in order to carry on uncoupling the device.

The headset chirped, "Rodney, Mr Woolsey just checked up on me."

Rodney sighed and wiped his sweaty forehead with an equally grimy hand and tapped the earpiece. "What did you tell him?"

"That you are working in a quiet room to avoid the incompetent scientists in the main lab and co-ordinating the efforts by email."

Rodney was hot and tired and sore, not to mention cranky, his stomach rumbled and he winced. "Do you think he bought it?"

"I believe so, but it will be difficult to keep him fooled indefinitely. Eventually he will want to see you working on his plan."

Rodney extracted himself from the open panel and Ronon tossed him a powerbar. Rodney caught it and nodded his thanks as he tore off the wrapper, thankful that he didn't get any muck on the food as he ate the whole thing in two big bites.

Radek said, "What is that noise?"

Rodney rolled his eyes for forgetting the channel was still open, "Can't a man eat in peace?"

"That is disgusting! Can you not at least turn the radio off so that I don't have to listen to you chewing and smacking?"

Rodney indicated the panel to Ronon and Teyla with a thumb over his shoulder. "This one's ready to go."

While Ronon and Teyla were lifting the emitter out of the alcove, Rodney packed up his tools and asked Radek, "So how are you getting on? What did you say to Woolsey about what you were up to?"

"I am not able to do very much without all four emitters in place and especially not without the ZPM."

"Alright, alright!" Rodney flapped his hands around in exasperation. "I'm working as fast as I can in these impossible conditions. Removing the emitters so that no one realises they're gone, as well as co-ordinating the labs via radio and carefully avoiding Woolsey the whole time."

Radek sighed into his radio and Rodney could imagine him sitting on the bench alone in the Jumper, surrounded by dismantled components with his glasses hanging off his nose. Radek finally said, "I told Mr Woolsey that I was analysing data and seeing if we missed something. But that excuse will not last for 12 hours."

Rodney let out his own involuntary sigh and liberally rubbed the grease around his face in a futile effort to remove it. "I know. I might go and clean up now and check in with the labs in person while the second emitter is brought up. Maybe we can keep Woolsey happy if he sees me in there."

Ronon and Teyla had the device on the trolley now. It was a hexagonal object about the size of a car tyre, the same colour as the brown-bronze walls the Lanteans loved so much, with a large, blue crystal in the middle. It was dull now, but when attached to a power source and activated, it glowed brightly – almost too much to look at.

Teyla said, "We will take this one to Dr Zelenka and meet you at the third site."

Rodney nodded and wiped his hands on his dirt streaked trousers, getting more grime on his hands than he removed.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

While Ronon and Teyla were moving the fourth and final emitter up to Radek's secret work space in the Jumper Bay, Rodney checked into the lab again and realised he had finally timed it just right as Mr Woolsey entered a couple of minutes later. Rodney was already hard at work snapping and rewriting calculations for some of his colleagues. His most trusted co-workers were already in on the second plan and they gamely allowed him to rant and rave at them as much as he liked, as long as it appeared he had been there the whole time.

They were making progress at deciphering and attempting to predict the path of the most destructive portions of the wave, but like the initial explosion itself, nothing seemed to be making any sense. Rodney seriously doubted the plan would work at all, even if they had months to work on it.

Woolsey came over to Rodney where he stood in front of a large whiteboard covered from top to bottom in formulae. He put the pen in his mouth while he used both hands to grab the eraser and obliterate a particularly curvy bracket. "No no no!" he cried once the pen was back in his hand. "This will not work. It needs to go over here."

He scrawled some messy, but legible, corrections and then handed the pen back to his colleague who took it reluctantly and eyed it with some disgust before promptly wiping it on his jacket.

"It's only saliva!"

Mr Woolsey was looking bemused as he glanced at the whiteboard and then Rodney. "How are you progressing?"

Rodney sighed, "Slowly."

"We only have a few hours until the wave hits."

"I know, but these are not only complex, but impossible calculations. You read the report, so you know as much as we do. The wave and anything associated with it does not operate within the confines of any known laws of physics."

"I have faith that you can do it."

"Well, faith isn't going to get these formulae to add up properly!"

Woolsey took a step back, but Rodney had dealt with people far scarier than him. Although he realised he had to treat Woolsey with some degree of care, it was difficult when he knew the man was essentially just a bureaucrat, with no practical skills whatsoever in Rodney's eyes. Rodney didn't have the time of day for people like him, but was forced to accept that he had to respect the power Woolsey had and at least _try_ not to be overly offensive.

Rodney lowered his voice and composed himself. "How about Sheppard and the others? Any news from the evacuation?"

Woolsey lowered his voice even more than Rodney's, so he had to strain to hear him. "The Alpha Site have not yet reported anyone coming through from the second planet yet."

"Really?" Rodney said, feeling all the blood draining out of his face. "But it's been eight hours since the Jumpers left."

"I know."

"Maybe they don't want to leave." He absently pressed a dark purple bruise on his arm and grimaced. "Or have been captured like we were."

"Perhaps. But it's looking more and more likely that the fate of the planet is all going to be up to you and your team."

Rodney couldn't quite quell the trembles that had suddenly started in his hands. "No pressure then."

"Well, I have heard that you work well under pressure, Dr McKay."

"Yes, but pressure will not present the solution all wrapped up with a nice little bow now will it?"

Woolsey shook his head. "You have three hours before the final check in and last chance for the evacuation teams to relay the co-ordinates of the safe areas and to move everyone there."

Rodney gulped and glanced around at the stricken faces of the rest of his scientists as the hope died in their eyes. There was no solution. No amount of time would ever present it to them, because the situation itself was impossible and the figures would never add up in this universe.

TBC


	5. Chapter 7

_A/N – Thank you to those who are reading and enjoying this. This story is for you after all. But for everyone else, please know that I am extremely sensitive to negativity and my motivation to write is waning._

**Chapter Seven**

They were running out of time. It was only thirty minutes until the wave hit the planet. Rodney and his team had transmitted the safe areas to the Puddle Jumper evacuation teams, but he knew that even if the people were moved, it was unlikely the co-ordinates were completely correct and safe.

Rodney sighed and rubbed his face with his hands tiredly. His ribs ached and his head throbbed, but his pain was insignificant compared to that which would be suffered very soon by the occupants of the planet if he did nothing.

The figures were already in from the Alpha Site, which only made Rodney steel his resolve and grit his teeth for the mission ahead. 109 people had been rescued - about one percent of the whole population. Most evacuation teams sent to save them were either captured, attacked, ignored or chased out of the villages. Rodney doubted that the natives would listen and move to the safe areas as instructed, and would therefore get burnt or aged or wiped from time entirely.

Because so few had been saved, Rodney felt like a massive failure, and there was only one time in his life he'd ever felt like that before this day, it was back on Doranda - the reason he was in so much trouble now. Doranda was a mistake that had not only nearly cost his life and John's, but had ended up in him betraying the trust of his best friend and committing vast destruction.

It had been bad immediately after Doranda, he still remembered it vividly - having to live with that mistake and the irrefutable truth that he was not infallible or as perfect and all knowing as he had always believed. His life and all his core personal beliefs were turned upside down by that revelation, not helped much by the anger those around him displayed. It was pivotal and life changing and it took a long time for him to get his ebb back and stop questioning all his actions to try and rebuild what he had once had – not only the opinion he had of himself, but those of the others surrounding him.

Rodney shared a look of determination with Radek where they were working in the Puddle Jumper to rig up the ZPM to the power matrix and shield emitters.

Radek's face was stern in concentration, but he stopped typing on his computer for a moment to say, "I know I cannot stop you if you really want to do this. But I think this might be a bad idea."

"We've got ten minutes to get it ready. We can talk about this when I get back."

Radek sighed. "We need more time to perfect this, ideally a few more days. There is no guarantee this will work and we must run simulations and live trials."

Rodney frowned and hardened his resolve. "This is the best live trial we'll ever have. Are you getting cold feet now?" Rodney's expression altered to one of realisation. "Oh, don't worry, I never intended for you to come with me too. I'll go alone."

Radek typed a few more lines of code, and kept typing in tandem with Rodney, a delicate and complex symphony of programming and coding they conducted together. Radek spoke, "You do not think me a coward for not going?"

In his heart, Rodney thought of this mission as his only and last chance at redemption. Or destruction. He knew it was probably a suicide mission. But he also knew with certainty that the shield would protect the planet for however long the energy wave took to pass over. At least if he were to die, he wouldn't have to face the consequences of his actions. His life for thousands. That was more than a fair trade, and far better than losing his job or going to prison.

Rodney grimaced at his screen. "No, of course you're not a coward! Besides, I need you to stay on Atlantis for your part of the plan."

Rodney squinted at the screen again and stopped typing. He looked up in time to meet Radek's gaze. The other man had also ceased.

Radek said, "It is ready."

"I know."

Radek unplugged his computer and stood up. "You should go now and get in position above the planet at these co-ordinates." He spun his screen around which now displayed a 3D schematic of the planet Porvush.

"I know that too."

"Make sure to activate the shield as soon as you get there. It will drain minimal power from ZPM until the energy wave begins to tax it."

Rodney frowned, "I know all of this! We've been working on it together for hours, remember?"

Radek took a step back and his face fell. "I am only making sure you are ready. Unless of course you want to become a cloud of floating debris?"

Rodney sighed and stood up too. "Well, uh, thanks."

Radek reached out and they shook hands, Radek even patted Rodney on the shoulder as he said, "Good luck."

"You too."

"I am not the one about to be sitting in the path of an unpredictable and destructive energy wave."

Rodney gave him a wry smile. "With Woolsey and the others."

"Oh, well, thank you."

Radek left the Jumper and Rodney picked up his computer and held it so tightly his knuckles turned white.

There was still time to walk away from this. He didn't have to go at all. But somehow, he did.

Rodney sealed the hatch and headed for the cockpit. Taking his place in the pilot's seat, he dialled the address for the Porvush space gate.

The moment his fingers pressed the first symbol on the DHD, he knew there was no going back. He switched off the radio and hoped that Radek had disabled the Atlantis internal sensors to hide the ZPM and his presence. Rodney held his breath and waited for the autopilot to carry him away to his fate.

xxxxxxxxxx

Rodney flew the Puddle Jumper above the vast planet of Porvush. He felt so small compared to the energy wave that was due to hit in ten seconds, even though he could see the shield spreading out to cover the planet on the sensors and the ZPM glowed in its cradle in the rear compartment.

Rodney leant forwards and braced himself on the console as though that would save him. He honestly had no idea what was going to happen – whether it would be like a wall of water or concrete or just air sailing harmlessly into the shield.

The clock counted down to zero and Rodney shut his eyes tightly and held on for dear life.

Nothing happened.

A few seconds later and there was still nothing.

Rodney cracked an eye open. His watch read T+30 seconds and counting. Perhaps their predicted impact time had been off? This was no ordinary wave of energy and it had thus far defied all their attempts to predict it. He just hoped the shield would hold and be sufficient to protect the planet or his life and career would have been sacrificed in vain.

Rodney hummed and brought up the main screen just in time to see the wave zoom through the system at a light defying speed and slam into the Jumper and shield. The inertial dampeners didn't stand a chance, even bolstered by the ZPM hooked into the Jumper's primary systems. The energy wave hit the shield like it was no more than a planet sized trampoline, but while the shields were enhanced with giant sized emitters, the engines were just the standard Puddle Jumper ones.

Rodney was smacked face first into the console when the dampeners failed. His chest bore the brunt of the impact as the control sticks jabbed into him. His already bruised and sore ribs protested vehemently, deciding not to let his lungs work at all until his vision faded to grey fuzziness.

In the void between wakefulness and trauma induced unconsciousness, Rodney was aware of flashes of light and time in his mind. All of a sudden he was back inside the only remaining structure in the ruins of Doranda as it had been three years ago, before its untimely destruction and the loss of whatever cultural remnants had been there. He was standing near Sheppard as the containment shield failed, and _he_ failed in a massive way.

Concussed and vivid hallucinations were not completely unknown to Rodney, but dredging up memories was never a good thing, especially those of that terrible day. Even all these years later, he now realised that he had still not really dealt with them for himself, but suppressed and buried all the painful emotions they stirred. Now it was all out in the open, laid bare and destructive, and to his horror he discovered the wounds were still just as raw and painful even all this time later.

Through the haze of pain and fear, Rodney managed to push himself up through the hazy fog and back to full consciousness. A further gathering of strength from a place he didn't know existed within him allowed him to shove himself off the console and sit back shakily. He watched the sensors as the ZPM enhanced engines and vast shield fought to hold the Jumper in place and the energy wave was refracted to sail by the planet harmlessly.

Rodney coughed wetly and rubbed his aching forehead. "That's going to kill a few brain cells and land me in the infirmary," he mumbled sadly.

He glared down at the planet below and a frown creased his brow as he took in the myriad shades of blue and green with oddly flat looking clouds from this altitude. "You'd better be grateful for this, you lot down there!" He sighed, "Doubt whether you'll even know what happened though."

Rodney gently patted his chest, searching for further injury and winced as he struggled to breathe. "Okay, touching bad… breathing good."

He checked the power levels, and satisfied they were steady and holding, he stood up gingerly and shuffled painfully into the rear compartment. Reaching up to grab the med kit was murder for his chest and he thought it would've been better to have left it alone. Not to mention the trip hazards Zelenka had left everywhere that nearly sent him sprawling more than once.

He popped a couple of painkillers and grabbed a cold pack for the bump to his head.

The ZPM was glowing brightly, almost as though it was pleased to be used for something more fitting than powering the light bulbs back on Atlantis. "Inanimate object," Rodney said out loud. Even though he sometimes thought of it as a much loved pet or friend, especially now. Reliable and powerful and obedient. "I really am concussed and confused," he conceded.

Just then, the orange-yellow light flickered and then came back constantly. The brightness intensified until the Jumper was flooded with a light so blinding, Rodney could no longer look. He grimaced and shielded his face as he staggered backwards.

"What now?" Rodney mumbled as he turned around and went into the cockpit and brought up the HUD to analyse the readings. His hurts momentarily forgotten, he saw that the anomalies were wreaking havoc on the shield, emitters and Jumper itself. Although the planet still seemed to be safe and oblivious, the shield was another matter.

"What?" Rodney asked the HUD. "That's totally impossible!"

He shut his eyes and did a double take. But he never got to say or see anything else as one of the destructive swathes of the energy wave hit the Jumper with full force. The shield held, but the Jumper was rattled, rocked and shaken about as though it was no more than a grain of sand hit by a sea wave in a storm.

The inertial dampeners failed again and the environmental controls went haywire. Systems shut off and came on and overloaded faster than Rodney could keep up with them, until his body finally submitted to the abuse it was receiving and gave out on him. He slumped down onto the console, dripping blood to the deck plating. A few seconds later, his unconscious body slid down to the floor as the ZPM winked out.

TBC


	6. Chapter 8 and 9

**Chapter Eight**

"Dial it again," Sheppard said.

Radek shook his head. "It is no use. The gate must have been affected by the anomalies, maybe even displaced or destroyed."

"Just dial it."

Radek sighed quietly, but turned in his seat in the control room and tapped the well worn symbols for the umpteenth time. And yet again, the wormhole refused to form. It had been several hours since Rodney had left them.

Sheppard sighed. "How could he do something like this?"

Radek frowned. "Perhaps you should consider how he could _not_ have done anything?"

Sheppard hadn't even taken off his tac vest yet, proceeding straight from the Jumper Bay to the control room. He'd stayed there as he attempted to dial the Porvush gate over and over and over, his eyes were red rimmed with tiredness and his face had taken on an unnervingly haunted look after the first hour had passed.

John looked over the balcony into the gate room, his eyes inexorably drawn to the empty ring and dull symbols on the Ancient structure. "You're right. Had we all worked on Rodney's plan, maybe he would've been alright. Even if he survived and managed to land on the planet after the gate's destruction, he's not exactly going to be welcomed with open arms by the locals."

Radek furrowed his brow, "I know. And it is a while before the Daedalus arrives to retrieve him."

"Every single one of their settlements was the same," John said in exasperation. "We tried to help them, but got chased out with spears and shouts at every turn."

John's eyes drifted back towards the DHD and he decided it was his turn to try it this time. He hammered the symbols and held his breath as he pressed the engage button. To his surprise the wormhole formed and he fumbled for his radio, "Atlantis to Jumper Twelve."

There was no answer.

"Sheppard to McKay. Please respond."

Radek shook his head solemnly.

Mr Woolsey had heard the commotion and come over. He hovered behind the consoles and after he shared a look with Sheppard, he nodded to the Colonel.

John tapped his radio and called Ronon and Teyla, "Grab your gear and meet me in the Jumper Bay. We're going on a rescue mission."

Radek quickly stood. "I will come with you also. What has happened is partly my responsibility and I should be able to help with your search as well as taking some readings."

John nodded and disengaged the wormhole before dashing up the stairs to the Jumper Bay to begin preflight checks.

xxxxxxxxxx

The Jumper glided out of the gate and into orbit above the planet Porvush. Zelenka was sitting in Rodney's seat, and something about that made John's skin prickle unpleasantly. He was fighting a battle between anger and worry about Rodney, but worry was winning out, especially since it had been John's fault for not taking just ten measly seconds to listen, _really_ listen, to what Rodney had to say about his plan.

But John was a go-to guy, much like Ronon and Teyla. He couldn't bear to sit around and wait for the intellectual plan to take shape on whiteboards and computer screens. He had to be out there doing something - shooting guns, or rescuing people, not sitting on his hands back on Atlantis when things needed doing. Therefore he had not seen it from the other side. He went for what he thought at the time would be the easy option, the safest one that would not only save everyone on the planet, but also keep everyone on Atlantis safe.

But he now saw that he had made a grave mistake, and one that may have cost Rodney his life - the man he thought of as his most trusted best friend. And Rodney had died alone, thinking he had been abandoned by John and all the military personnel on Atlantis, whose only duty was to protect the civilian charges in their care.

"There is no damage to the planet," Radek said with his eyebrows raised.

John's heart plummeted further.

Ronon said, "So either it worked, or the wave hasn't hit yet."

Radek frowned, "Oh no, the energy wave has definitely hit. I am detecting particles and after effects consistent with the energy wave on one of the other planets in the system."

"And Dr McKay?" Teyla asked, her face carefully concealing her emotions, but John could see his own worry mirrored in her eyes.

"Scanning for Jumper Twelve." Radek frowned while he worked.

John's main problem, even three years after Rodney had begged for his trust to make the Doranda project work, was that he still didn't totally and utterly trust Rodney as he once had. That, in combination with the way Rodney had lacked confidence in whether his plan would work or not, was what had forced Rodney into a corner and made him do what he had just done. It was a complete reversal of what had happened before. Rodney had lacked confidence this time, but his plan had definitely worked, judging by the way the unblemished planet glistened brightly beneath the Jumper as it hunted for its companion in the deep black of space.

"I have something!" Radek called out.

John and the others craned their necks to see what Radek had seen on the computer screen in his lap.

"HUD please," Radek said.

John furrowed his brow at having to be asked – Rodney usually hijacked his control with his own ATA gene and brought it up himself.

The screen appeared and Radek said, "I am detecting a metallic object at these co-ordinates."

John adjusted course.

"There is no power, but... ah, yes. One life sign. Faint, but definitely there."

John let out a sigh of relief as he lined the Jumper up with the other one that was turning end over end, but dark inside when the window rolled past. He clicked the comm, "Sheppard to McKay. Come in please."

There was no response, but he hadn't really been expecting one. He left the channel open, but if the Jumper was out of power, the comm would be too. That also meant no life support, so no warmth or air.

John checked the alignment and synchronised the Jumper to spin in exact time with the other one. He was infinitely grateful that the science team had kept the grapple installed on one of the Jumpers for operations such as these. He really didn't feel up to a space walk.

He fired the grapple into the rear hatch of the other ship and began towing it back to the gate.

xxxxxxxxxx

Rodney was jolted out of his dreams of lying on ice with a polar bear sitting on his chest by a loud clang and a sharp tug. It took him a while to remember where he was, and even longer to gather the strength to pry his eyes open. He swore the polar bear was gnawing on his right forearm and getting heavier, because it was so hard to breathe.

He whispered as images flashed through his mind, "ZedPM. Puddle Jumper. Energy wave."

Rodney opened his eyes to darkness. There was no polar bear, or ice, but the air was thin and he struggled to draw breath into his painful chest. Then a glimpse of stars out of the window made him remember. He was dying and the planet must have been destroyed because he had been knocked out before the energy wave had completely passed.

His breath fogged as a shiver rolled through him, but it did nothing to warm him up.  
There was a voice talking from the cockpit and he saw the faint outline of his portable radio stowed. The voice was muttering and tinny - something about the stargate, a grapple line and the drive pods, which were too wide to fit through the gate. There was talk about Rodney dying and then regret that nothing could be done.

Rodney grimaced and glanced up at the emergency controls from where he floated without the arficial gravity. He remained motionless, unable to find the oxygen or motivation to fuel his muscles and move. All that he had to do was reach up and pull one lever – the very same one he personally installed in every single jumper – complete with its own separate power supply. It allowed the retraction of the drive pods, an important safety feature after the Jumper he was once inside got stuck in the gate for the same reason.

But in that moment, his mind woke up a little more and other more unpleasant memories surfaced. His betrayal became apparent to him once more, and how he was going to lose everything the moment he set foot back on Atlantis. He felt so numb, and allowed his body to drift in the weightlessness – no pressure or sensation, just guilt and fear.

Rodney thought he heard John's voice over the radio – how could that be? He thought he had utterly exhausted the number of saves he deserved from the Colonel. Not only that, but he'd turned into a man that couldn't be trusted to follow any form of authority at all - a dangerous commodity on Atlantis when so many lives were at stake.

Rodney McKay was no coward though, it would be easy just to let himself float away and die so that he didn't have to face up to what he'd done. But his survival instincts fuelled him, along with the knowledge that he still had so much more work to do back on Atlantis, so many things to discover and argue with Radek about.

Maybe it had been Radek who'd organised the search party.

Radek... it really would've been inconsiderate for Rodney to leave his second in command and friend behind to take all the blame for this when Rodney should be there to take everything. Rodney was the head of the science team and the main culprit in this little operation, and that also made him the one who should take the punishment for all of it. He couldn't let anyone else take the blame.

They still cared enough to rescue him, and Rodney cared enough to _give_ them something to rescue. At least he was hurt, so he'd hopefully get some leniency and compassion. Besides, as far as he could see, he hadn't really done anything wrong. Except for perhaps the obedience problem, but Rodney was never a man who lacked initiative or followed leadership like a moronic sheep.

Rodney reached up and pulled the lever. There was a scrape and thump on each side of the Jumper. But the motion made Rodney's ribs grated together, and he'd used his bad arm in his deliriousness. Blood spread out into the thinning air in a cloud of droplets and the tinny voices on the radio faded to nothing along with Rodney's awareness.

xxxxxxxxxx

**Chapter Nine**

Through some very careful manoeuvring on John's part, the rescue Jumper successfully pulled the other ship through the gate. Although when the ship piloted by Sheppard started to rise on autopilot into the Jumper Bay above, the one without power hung vertically and thumped into the stairs in the gate room. The stairs remained intact though. Tough Ancient workmanship took a lot more pounding to be damaged than a solid hit by several tonnes of Ancient spaceship.

John had called a medical team the moment he had dialled, but he still sprinted out of the Jumper he landed after laying the other one down flat in the Bay. Ronon, Teyla and Radek were on his heels, but John made it to the other one first.

The rear hatch lowered and John found Rodney sitting against the rear bench, wheezing for breath, his face pinched and his legs tangled in cables.

John turned to Radek, "Will we get electrocuted?"

"It is not electricity, and no, it appears to have been disabled somehow. There are severed wires."

John climbed over them and crouched down next to Rodney as his gasping breaths eased with the air flooding in, until Rodney could let out a groan in his semi-conscious state.

"Where's that med team?" John called out, as Rodney threatened to slump over, and John caught him in his arms and held him loosely.

Rodney looked at him blearily and said, "Thought you'd leave me... to die. I deserve..."

"To live," Sheppard cut in. "You did good, Rodney. But you shouldn't have gone alone. Don't worry, I'm not angry with you, I know I was for a few days, but that was years ago and I've moved on."

"Well, I haven't. Not really, not where it matters." He pressed a shaking, bloody hand to his chest while his other arm lay completely still and out of shape on the deck, his sleeve soaked through with blood. "In here."

"You just saved thousands of lives, Rodney."

"They wouldn't have needed saving if it weren't for me."

Rodney coughed and John felt the motion transfer through his arms. Rodney drew in a shuddering breath and then went limp just as Keller and her med team swarmed in with bags of gear, oxygen masks and bandages.

John helped Radek untangle the cables entwined around Rodney's legs and soon Rodney was loaded onto the waiting gurney and whisked away.

Radek pressed the cradle holding the ZPM in place and it lit up. He momentarily frowned at the display readout before he gasped in surprise. But when he looked up, John, Teyla and Ronon had already gone after Rodney to the infirmary.

xxxxxxxxxx

Rodney's team had to wait for a several hours until Rodney was wheeled out of surgery.

Jennifer came over to them, looking flustered, but hopeful. She ran through a list of injuries. "Well, he's nicely bruised just about everywhere, along with a mild concussion. Those bruised ribs have gone a bit further now and some are broken. But the worst of it was his arm - he had an open fracture of his right forearm that we've just had to surgically pin. He lost a lot of blood."

Teyla furrowed her brow, "Will he be alright?"

Jennifer nodded. "Barring complications, he'll be fine. But he's going to be sore and grouchy for several weeks."

Ronon said, "No change there then."

Jennifer turned to John, who had not yet spoken. "Would you like to see him? He's still resting under the influence of all the drugs we gave him."

John nodded slowly and Jennifer pressed her lips together tightly, as she led the others to gather around the bed of the sleeping, and now bandaged and well medicated Rodney.

Jennifer looked around at his team and said carefully, "I know it's not really my place to say anything, but I read the report of what happened on Doranda before Rodney just did what he did."

The others remained silent while she continued, "Even if you still blame him for what happened, he's going to need your support to get through this."

John nodded, for he too had now well and truly learnt his lesson. Just as Rodney had learnt not to say he could do something when his science team were telling him he was wrong, John had learnt that being angry with Rodney was a waste of time and energy, and only had the opposite effect than what he wanted.

If Rodney was wrong about something, he was intelligent enough to know. And if he made a mistake that was pointed out to him, that was punishment enough for a man so arrogant and proud of his knowledge about all things.

Jennifer said, "You can wait if you like. He won't be out for too long."

Teyla took Rodney's unhurt hand and squeezed gently, while Ronon looked on impassively, and John continued to fight the warring emotions within.

xxxxxxxxxx

John was the only one in the infirmary when night fell, as Ronon and Teyla had excused themselves for dinner. Whether Rodney was awake and ignoring them, or still out cold after surgery, John couldn't tell.

John sighed and shifted in the uncomfortable chair the infirmary staff had provided and peered at Rodney's pale, bruised face. John saw there were also dark circles around Rodney's eyes, whether through injury or tiredness, he wasn't sure. But he was betting Rodney had worked himself into the ground to get the ZPM shield plan to work, even though he knew it might be the last thing he did for Atlantis and earn him a one-way ticket on the next flight home.

It just went to show that Rodney cared about people, even those he didn't know, whose leaders weren't very nice to him. An admirable quality in a man who on first impression only seemed to care about himself and his myriad of tiny day to day woes.

John spoke to the possibly sleeping form of his friend, "Did you know that Radek came in earlier and told us the ZPM's fine. In fact it's better than that. Something about a time distortion passing through it and turning back the clock. It's actually recharged a little bit."

Rodney breath hitched slightly, but John couldn't tell if he was faking sleep.

"I don't see how Woolsey can be upset about that. I'd already forgiven you before I found out."

John narrowed his eyes at Rodney's face, trying to detect a twitch that would show whether he was awake or not. There was no reaction, so he continued to speak. "And you should also know that the shield plan worked. I don't know who you bribed or how many favours you called in the get it to work, but I'd call that nothing short of a miracle."

Rodney's face really did twitch at that and John leant forwards and asked, "Are you smiling?"

Rodney's mouth resolutely turned down.

"You _are_ smiling! Come on, just a bit more."

Rodney winced a little and then he couldn't help himself as corners of his lips moved up and he opened his eyes, drew in a shaky breath and looked at John.

John smiled back and said, "I'm not going to lecture you about the means justifying the ends. All that I'll say is that you were right." John took a deep breath. "And I was wrong. You shouldn't have to ask us to trust you. It's something we need to place in you unconditionally."

Rodney whispered, "What about Woolsey?"

"He'll be alright, I'll have a word with him. I don't see what he can do, considering it was the whole science department in on it."

Rodney's expression instantly changed to worry. "Mainly me though. The ringleader. Make an example."

"But the best we have. I'm sure it'll be alright, try not to worry about it until you're feeling better."

Rodney nodded slightly and shut his eyes again.

xxxxxxxxxx

A few days later, with his arm in a cast and sling, Rodney went back to work.

He couldn't do anything other than give verbal direction as his ribs were too sore to type or fiddle with Ancient artefacts, but his scientists didn't mind. He swore some of them were acting differently around him now, with more reverence and quiet respect than Rodney could stomach. The mood was soon broken when Rodney lost his temper and started shouting about some bad coding and how a certain line would blow up the lab rather than fix the problem.

And things went back to normal from that moment onwards.

But Rodney knew he still hadn't faced Woolsey about his disobedience, and unlike Sheppard, Woolsey was the one with the power to remove him from Atlantis.

Therefore it was with a heavy weight of dread that Rodney was called to Woolsey's office a week after he'd got back from his daring and painful stunt over the skies of Porvush. Although the Daedalus had now run some scans and confirmed that the energy wave had dissipated to such an extent that it wouldn't cause any problems should it hit more planets in its path.

Woolsey looked sternly at Rodney when he went into his office. But unlike Elizabeth, who had instantly started shouting and railing at him the moment he got back from Doranda, despite Rodney still reeling from nearly being killed, Woolsey was perfectly civil and didn't raise his voice at all.

"Dr McKay."

Rodney sat down slowly and shut his eyes until his injuries had settled and stopped hurting so badly from the shift in position. He held his cast with his opposite hand and needlessly checked the sling was secure.

Woolsey furrowed his brow a little, but kept speaking, "I called you here today, not to punish you, but to tell you what I have decided about the little escapade that happened last week."

Rodney frowned in confusion, but the tight knot in his chest that wasn't to do with his sore ribs eased a little.

"As the leader of Atlantis, it's my duty to consider the best course of action not only for the inhabitants of the city, but also for the protection of Earth. Know that I could never have authorised the use of the ZPM in the way you suggested, because there was too much risk that it would be lost and then there would be nothing standing between the Wraith and Earth should they find the city before we find another ZPM."

Rodney said, "So you knew what was going on, but turned a blind eye."

"You'd be surprised how much I know about the city and what's going on."

Rodney widened his eyes.

Woolsey waved him off, "Let's just say Dr Weir and Colonel Carter left some notes."

"So what happens now?" Rodney asked. "Do I have to spend some time in the brig, or manually type out lines of boring code."

Woolsey opened his mouth to speak, but Rodney ploughed on, listing all the punishments he'd doled out to his subordinates when they'd destroyed priceless artefacts through incompetence. "Scrub out the water tanks, mess hall duty, have my work checked and decisions questioned?"

Woolsey quickly uttered, "No."

Rodney looked up, his face bright with hope. "Really?"

"I think your physical injuries are punishment enough, and besides, we all need you exactly where you are and doing what you're currently doing."

A silence fell between them, but it wasn't the tense one that Rodney had been dreading, but rather a mutual respect.

Rodney asked, "What will you tell the IOA?"

Woolsey gave him a sly smile. "That your plan was the one we favoured, and had the full backing and support of the science department based upon their unwavering confidence that it would work."

Rodney gave him a lopsided smile.

Woolsey returned it. "The truth in other words."

"And if it hadn't worked, and we'd lost the ZPM...?"

"Let's not go there."

Rodney left Woolsey's office with a light bounce in his step. He was feeling better than he had done for over three years. The fallout from the Doranda incident was finally resolved and he was free from the guilt of what he had done. His friends and colleagues had actually acknowledged that he'd learnt his lesson and that they held no grudge against him, which he had never known before. Although it would've been nice to have known that sooner, rather than them being forced to say it by the latest averted disaster.

Rodney had even accepted the help this time. Although he still hasn't regained the blind trust he had had prior to the incident on Doranda. It was unlikely he ever would. But maybe that was a good thing.

***Fin***

_A/N – Thank you so much for all your support during my writing of this. It's been a rough ride for me and I honestly don't think I could've finished at all without your lovely comments spurring me on! I intend to have a breather now, perhaps write some more stressless oneshots - chill without the cliffhangers! :)_


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